Influence of SnO2 nanoparticles on the relaxation dynamics of the conductive processes in polyaniline

The effect of stannic oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles on the electrical conductivity relaxation and distribution of relaxation times within the 4-Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) doped polyaniline (Pani) was investigated using electrical impedance spectroscopy. A temperature dependent Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) type temporal relaxation function in the time domain was generated from the analysis of the frequency dependence of the dielectric modulus (imaginary component). The thermal evolution of the characteristics parameters of the KWW function was evaluated and using these parameters the temperature dependent average conductivity relaxation time and associated macroscopic conductivity of different samples were estimated. The study revealed that SnO2 nanoparticles within the polyaniline matrix induced faster relaxation of charge carriers that essentially enhanced the conductivity of the nanocomposite. The observed phenomena were well supported by the observed improvement of the localization length of the charge carriers within the nanocomposite.